Industrial truck



Jul zs, 1940.

s. wzlss INDUSTRIAL TRUCK Filed Nov. 6, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 1 S .w a. V rZ 1 mMQ Z $7 M w 1 "m x I h i i e I mnUs'raraL moon I f v smeewem; pee-me, ;.ore..-feemee to 1.

Vaughan Motor 00., Inc., Portland, orez.,,1e corporation'of orezon A v m (W Appiication nevembee s, 1959, Serial 363,085"

Thisinvention relates to industrial truck s of 1 the type describediin States Letters Patent; No. 2,169,440, issued underdate of August 1 ,1 15,: 1939, such trucks being suitable particularly 5': for moving loads offfeight about inwarehouses and on docks; and this invention is concerned with certain changes orimprovements' in the industrial truck descrlbe'din myzabove-mentioned Q patent. 1 s p 19 1 In industrial: end-lift tracks of the type in questiomit is customaryto providemeans for operating the end lift, sores" to raiseorlower'the j loadgcarried bythe truck, and alsoeto aprovide means for tiltingl or adjusting theposition of the frame forthe end-lift or elevator inorder to posi tionthe load withrespect'to the truck andpree 1 ,venti overbala'ncing of the truck." M

, ally-operated screw shaft :and connecting mech- 25 ,It is pesmegeim truegeeret eypegnetever, to lift a load-from its ground support, smile ciently to enablethe loadto be moved from one place to another, merely by tippinz,,the end-' frame andwithout using anyother loadrai sing '3 )fmeansthe tipping of theefnd frame causing the 1] horizontally hroiectink Portions of the engaging arms'lattached to the endeframeQwhen under thejload, tov-be' tilted upwardly from the 1 horizontal, endyurtfmg theiioad with men. 1

1 :5 have found that ;,in" ordinary uses otflsuclrr in dustrialtruckaitispossible, by properly mountelevating means:

[improvedjindustrial truck in which the load will beflifted merely by thetipplng ofthe endeframe, disp lnz i h ev ti sg c a i fofflthe 1 jfl'I'heobjectfof this jinv'ention is ito' provide'j an end-litt, and to substitute, motor-drivenfmeans 5* for timing the rranieand thereb i n -endt e ing the loadfinplace of the, customaryinianually- Q it operated meansjfor'tilting the frame.

'A further ohjeetjof thisinvention eemed;

. improved inechanlsmfor tilting the framewhich motor, thus without, necessitating any second my truckshowin'g theloadron thetruck and the w load-carryingelement:intilted positionp if j includes an .j, end one. pairlof d atthe rear on a steered by the mediumof the l ig 3), (not on'IyJfurnishes the power forpro pellin'gthe vehicle, but also furnishes the power-F I r for operating the tload carryingelementmh Ki t e nda d vm ld s ui l 'ti tins m ans, to dispense with alllother end-lifting or 1 wheel bofthtruok; The Operationoftlusclutch.

1 shaft, :and thus the driving of the ,truck', is [con-- :manner shown "and described in mytwo patents 1 above-mentioned. H a

frame too far in either direction.

W'I'hemann'er in which I'attain these objects my improved industrlalrtruck will be described briefly with reference to the; accompanying drawingsrz, -,w1 ,1 V

Inthedrawings: a, 1 i e t Figure. lwisi a side elevationaof my improved .truck, showing. them loadecarrylng element in vertical position ready for engaging *the load to hbe'icarriedy i e Figure 21s a corresponding side elevation ot tion', partly in: vertical section-,2; and; drawn to a larger/scale, illustrat e' constructionand mannerof opera-tlonno th mechanism for tiltingthe framersh g ,1 The industrial) truck illustrated, which i in most, M respects is' identlcal that described in more i Patent No. '2, 169,440," supported at theforward vingwheels b andsupported: 'gleaeaster wheel 0. 'l'hetmck g caster wheel ac, through I the housingconsistsrnainly ofwa pair of spaced 'verti-l ca1xplatese. Wit-hin the housingis theinternaljIO f I combustion engine 11,1which, through the-medium so: afipair er clutchshafts 15, parallel to the drive shaft of the motor, (oneofwhich is shown in mounted in the'forward end of thetruck.

tioned,;:.: *1 1d,- ,more particularly, in my United Statesl ettersPatentINo;2,105,680, issued January 18, 19 mm; present invention one of the parallel #:115115 connected by suitable transmlssl 1(n0fl shown) driving "trolled my eans; of the hand, lever 2| in the.

control forthe mechanismforftlltinz y to spreventlany possible moving or itiltinx of the Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side eleva and lsteering lever d. The truck I thehandQ-lever 2| controls the positionof the.

pinion ll, and spur"gear-3 lj,to a sprocket 32,

which is connected by an endlesschain 33 to sprocket wheel 34 keyed to a shaft 35 journaled 1 in the housing. side plates 'e. 4 pinion 36,. also keyed to the shaft 35, meshes with a rackbar II which 8 held in engage fint with said pinion by being slideably disposed in an angular l rocker ll freely mounted on the shaft 35..

I The load-carrying elementh comprises a rigid n n V shaft 46 mounted in the frame side members it as shown in Fig. 3. Adjustable stop collars 41 frame made up of'a pair of side members I0, which are provided with brackets ll, (shown dotted-in Fig. 1), rockably disposed on the housing of the vehicle axle i2, and of suitable cross members such ,as l3 which are made fast to the side members. A .substantial plate it extends across the front of the spaced side members ill at the bottom, and is made rigidtherewith as shownFig. 3, the top edge of the plate being adapted to receive the hooked upper endsof a pair of angular-load-engaging and supporting armsll] .In conventional'industrial end-lift truclrs simila'rj load-earrying'armsareaused as parts of a.

"platform adapt ed .to be raised and. lowered in and the like. It is necessaryfor vehicles used upstanding guide channels by hoisting mechanism, and, whilesuch elevating platforms are useful incertain-kinds of work, theyarenotanessential .partT-of :a'truck designed merely to move goods fromplaoe to place in warehouses in the latter-mentioned manner merely to have 'means for engaging the load,-raising the load clear of the'floor, supportingthe load while in transit, and subsequently depositing the load.

The rackbar 31' .(Fig. 3) is pivotally connected files at u to the crossbar. l3 of'the' frame of. the load-carryingelement h. Thus, therotary motion of the shaft 35 is convertedtolinear move-v mentof the rackbar 31 with. the result'that the rlgidframe h is tilted toward "or. away fromthe "shaft I5 depending upon the-direction of rotai tion of the clutch shaft l6, andithis rotation in yoke;-1|. v I I The clutch shaft-tit; carries apair of rotatable turn is selectively determined by the position of the hand, leverIll. The hand lever is connectedby 'rod to one arm-Ha of a vY-shaped lever disposed on a; shaft 42 mounted in a bracket 4; on the'clutch' housing; Another, arm

llb'tof the lever ll is pivot'allyattached to the {vertical rod 24, whichrod is connected by link ll .to-aniarm I rigidl'yhttached .to a forked sleeves driven in opposite directions from the power-shafti; A seriesloffriction clutch discs are slideably, but non-rotatably, mounted on .each rotating sleeve and are adapted to engage interposed discs which are. slideably, but nonroti'ttably, mounted on the. clutch-"shaft, this construction being the same as that described more" fully in my United .States Patent. No.

2,105,880. .Adj acenteach of the. two "engageabie :groups-of friction discs is a pressure sleeve:

slideably mounted onthe clutch shaft, and be- Y tween the pair of pressuresleeves' l'l are Y'-'shaped f pressure levers l'l adap'ted to be opgratedjby the'shifting collar it. Pins carried by the ex "tremities of the forkedjyoke 21. bear in the groove ll ofthe shiftingcollar It; Thus movement of shiftingcollar I8, and the position of this collar in than controls the rotation (of the clutch shaft It The rotation of the clutch shafhthrough automatic stop. will disengage" means, causes the load-engaging element It to be tilted as desired.

- An important feature of my invention resides in the provision of automatic means for disengaging the clutch when the load-carrying element h has been tilted to a predetermined limit in eitherdirection and thus preventing further tilting .in the same directionbeyond such limit.

The thirdxarmjic 'of the iY-shapedlever II is pivotally connected to'a block 44 which is slideable on a rod 45. The rod 45 is pivoted tofa frame is tilted forwardly slightly from the posi- 1 tion'slfowq-in Figixl, so thatthe outer endsofthe lifting arms. 15 may be inserted under :the load,

i the vehicle beingmeanwhile slowlymoved ahead until the plate I t-contacts the load. The position of the hand lever Ills-then, reversed so as to cause the frame to betilted-hackwardly and thereby raise the urangar'r'r js. "is .and the load clear of the floor as, shown ln'Fig. 2. It is 118068? sary only to set the han r ill-because the nism at the. predetermined'limit, thus preventing the load .being tipped backward too far and {the operators'attention may at once he directedto setting the vehicle in motion and to steering the vehicle. Also the handlevenfl-when placed.

in the; desired position will .remain there, until subsequentlrmahipulated. Furthermoresince the two'parallel-clutchshafts work entirely independently ofe'ach other, the load frame may be tilted in either. direction while the. vehicle is a traveling, vthus materially increasing the emtheitilting mecha- I clency in which goods may be carried from place to placein a warehouse. Finally, only a single engine or motor is re'quiredfor driving the truck. jtilting theframe, and lifting theload.

I claim! s "1. 'In an i iiustrlal truck'of'the character described, a tiltable framepivotally mounted at one end of, said truck for movement in a vertical plane,' a pair of. load-engaging arms on 'said frame, a motor-driven'shaft, a pair of parallel clutch shafts located near said motor-driven shaft, one off lsaid clutch shafts'connected to a driving wheel offsaid truck, means for positioning said/fr ame connected to the sec'ond'clutch shaft, whereby rotation of said second clutch shaft will cause tilting of said frame, loose gears driven shaft, longitudinally-slidable,' friction clutchdiscs on each of said clutch shafts and c0- operatin'gslidable friction discs carried by said loose gears, means, including a control collar on each clutch shaft, for bringing said discs intofrictional engagement, a pairof manually-open be caused to be rotated by saidmotor-driven' shaft as desired, and means connecting 'said frame and the lever control for said second clutch shaft, said latter-mentioned means adapted to move said lever control and therewith said collar of said second clutch shaft into neutral position on said clutch shafts rotated by said motorto stop rotation of said second clutch shaft wheni ever said frame has reached predetermined limits of position.

2. In an industrial truck of the character described, a tiltable load-carrying element pivotally mounted atone end of said truck, for movement in a vertical plane, load-engaging means carried by said element, a motor-driven shaft, a pair of parallel clutch shafts located near said motordriven shaft, one of said clutch shafts connected to a driving wheel ofsaid truck, means for posi- .tioning said element connected, to thesecond clutch shaft, whereby rotation ofsald second clutch shaft will cause tilting of said element,

loose gears on saidclutch shafts rotated by said motor-driven shaft, longitudinally-slidable, friction clutch discs on each of said clutch shafts and cooperating slidable friction discs carried by said loose gears, means, includinga control collar on each clutchshaft, for bringing said discs into frictional engagement, a pair of manually-operable lever controls connected to said control collars respectively for positioning said collars, whereby either or both of said clutch shafts can be caused to be rotated by. said motor-driven shaft as desired, and means connecting said element and the lever control for said second clutch shaft, said latter-mentioned means including stops automatically engaging said lever control 8 whenever said element has been tilted a predetermined distance in either direction.

a. In an industrial truck of the character described, a tiltableframe pivotally mounted at one end of said truck for movementin a vertical plane, load-engaging means on said frame, a

- motor-driven shaft, a pair of parallel clutch shafts iocated near said motor-driven shaft, one of said clutch'shafts connected to a driving wheel of said truck, means for positioning said 'frame connected to the second clutch shaft, whereby rotation of said second clutch shaft will cause tilting of said frame, loose gears on saidclutch shafts rotated by said motor-driven shaft, longitudinally-slidable, friction clutch discs on-each of said clutch shafts and cooperating slidable friction discs carried by said loose gears, means,

including a rockable lever and control collar slidable over said lever on each clutch shaft, for bringing said discs into frictional engagement, a pair of manually-operable lever controls connected to said control collars respectively for nositioning said collars, whereby either or both of said clutch shafts can be caused to be rotated by said motor-driven shaft as desired, a rod pivoted to said frame, an arm connected to the manual lever control for said second clutch shaft, said rod sliding through saidarm, and stops on said rod adapted. to engage and move said arm and therewith said iever control whenever said frame has been moved a predetermined distance in either direction. 

